RNC: Melania Trump makes rare appearance to watch Donald’s speech

Donald Trump’s elusive wife Melania has appeared in public for the first time since the former president narrowly avoided an assassin’s bullet.

Dressed in Republican red, she entered the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee alone, accompanied by classical music — a marked contrast to the country music anthems and rock ballads we’ve been hearing all week.

Glitzy and glamorous, she looked more like she was walking a catwalk than attending a political convention. She seemed as impenetrable and distant as ever.

She joined him on stage after his lengthy acceptance speech, heading to the podium just before balloons rained down on thousands in the crowd. Donald Trump greeted her with a hug and the two exchanged a kiss on the cheek.

He then grabbed her hand and walked across the stage as other members of the Trump family joined them.

Since her husband was first elected in 2016, Melania Trump has broken every rule of normal American presidential politics.

In the White House during Trump’s first term, she was a reclusive figure compared to other first ladies, focusing on a narrow set of interests. The U.S. National Archives describes her as an “ambassador of kindness” and an advocate for children’s issues.

And since her husband left office, she has refused to be seen at his side on many occasions when the public would expect her to be present.

She wasn’t there when he had his photo taken in Atlanta. She wasn’t there in New York when he became the first former president to be convicted of a felony. And she wasn’t there when he officially won his party’s presidential nomination for the third time on Monday.

“Melania does what Melania wants,” said Mary Jordan, author of The Art of Her Deal, a biography of the former first lady. “She is fiercely independent and will not do anything just because someone else does it. She feels no obligation to do it.”

We’re all used to her not appearing at most of Donald Trump’s events by now, but on Monday, when he entered the arena here in Milwaukee and was greeted enthusiastically, like a Messiah after surviving an assassination attempt, her absence seemed particularly conspicuous.

This was certainly noticed by the Republicans gathered here, but that doesn’t mean they weren’t excited by its appearance, when it finally did.

Melania is the most enigmatic first lady in modern history and we rarely hear what she thinks.

One exception is the lengthy statement she released after the shooting of her husband, which reads as if she had dictated it directly.

“A monster who recognized my husband as an inhuman political machine tried to silence Donald’s passion – his laughter, his ingenuity, his love of music and his inspiration,” she said.

“The essential aspects of my husband’s life – his human side – have been buried under the political machine. Donald, the generous and caring man with whom I lived the best and the worst times.”

It is traditional at party conventions for the candidate’s wife to give a speech and tell heavily scripted anecdotes about family life.

On Wednesday night, Usha Vance, the wife of JD Vance, Trump’s new running mate, did just that. She called her husband a “meat and potatoes” man, but in an apparent sign of his devotion, she said he now cooks her Indian vegetarian meals.

And while Donald Trump’s eldest son Don Jr., his youngest son Eric, his daughter-in-law Lara and his granddaughter Kai all spoke at the convention, Melania declined the opportunity to speak. She clearly doesn’t do anything she doesn’t want to do.

When she introduced her husband at the 2016 convention, during his first run for president, things went horribly wrong.

She was criticized for plagiarizing Michelle Obama’s speech in 2008, when she introduced her husband Barack Obama at the Democratic convention. Melania Trump’s speechwriter later accepted responsibility for the mistake.

First ladies are always closely scrutinized for the image they project, the causes they defend and the clothes they wear.

But Melania Trump is the first to be a professional model. She looks stunning in photos and is acutely aware of the power of her image. By offering so few photo opportunities, she makes each one infinitely more powerful.

“She’s very savvy and has cultivated the mystique of the mysterious woman by going underground, and then when she comes out it’s a much bigger deal,” Jordan says.

“She doesn’t show up very often, but she shows up when Donald Trump really needs her.”

After Saturday’s assassination attempt, Melania felt like she had disappeared. But Thursday night, as she slowly climbed the stairs to the VIP section, stopped at the top and waved to every corner of the arena, she demonstrated her mastery of the power of an image.

His absence can sometimes be his strength.